Oomzi

When the High Rust hit the Haan Archipelago with a layer of disease-causing orange-tinted mist suspended several meters above ground, many people started believing that the cataclysm was somehow directly targeted at the wealthy: after all, living in high towers, castles or in the mountains was seen as a display of wealth and high social class.
This perception coined the concept of a "collateral", a person of lower social class that got affected by the rust, usually due to working for the rich.
But some got eaten by the corroding disease out of sheer bad luck. This was the case of Oomzi, a Thaurian boy that was on a hard-earned family vacation to the City of Goldwaste when the High Rust hit.

Physical appearance

Oomzi is a furry societarian of cheetah phenotype.
He has orange eyes, black spots over a sand-coloured coat with a lighter chest and a juvenile, light blonde mane along the back of his head and neck.
Oomzi's right leg is covered in patches of reddened scar tissue left by the rust, resulting in a patchwork pattern of fur and tight red skin. The outer side of the thigh is the most affected area, almost devoid of hair up to the hip.

Personality

Anyone that had met Oomzi, child or adult, would describe him as an energetic, happy boy.
He loves running in open areas and has a surprising endurance. He is inquisitive, humble and wholesome, and tries his best to make others feel good when he thinks someone around him is sad.
Oomzi sometimes has way more energy and love to give than what a single person can handle. Luckily for him, there are usually a lot more people than normal available to handle it.

Life

It takes a village

Oomzi was born in the 6th of Reaping, 3010 E.Alz to a tigress woman called Taiga and a king cheetah man called Gaze.

Gaze is the owner of the house of pleasures "The Playground" in the City of Birdland, where he grew a community of like-minded individuals. Here he met Taiga, a writer of adult fiction, with whom he had intimate encounters in the context of The Playground's activities.
When Taiga got pregnant, she and Gaze decided to have the child and raise him with their community. The parents did not become a formal or romantic couple, however, they supported each other and joined forces to take care of him.

Delight

Oomzi grew up surrounded by lots of loving adults from the Playground group, who saw him as a son of the community and treated him as their own.
Chief among these was Delight, an intimate friend of Gaze that doted the child with gifts, and made use of their privileged economic position to ensure Oomzi didn't miss anything he needed to thrive.
Delight would spend lots of time with him and his parents, leading Oomzi to consider them as his "extra parent".

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Unfortunate vacations

Corrosion by Naelín

When Oomzi was 4 years old, by the month of Preparing of 3014 E.Alz, Taiga had saved enough to take him on vacation to the capital of the kingdom, the luxurious city of Goldwaste, famously located in the middle of a mountain range, a trip she intended also to use to promote her writings and do research.
By this time, the air above the archipelago had already started turning orange, but this was ignored by many as it had not caused any issues in four months, and was assumed to be related to a distant volcanic eruption or a similar geological or weather event: If anything, the permanent orange filter in the high locations was one extra attraction of the city.

Sunset in the mountains by Sergey Pesterev

Taiga and Oomzi arrived in the mountainous city at the start of the month of Celebrating to find out that, in the last couple of days, objects and live beings started showing signs similar to that of the rust of metals. The deaths started shortly after.
The two stayed in the famous city for only two days before Taiga made arrangements to flee back to Birdland, but it was too late: They were still traversing the route back when Taiga discovered rust scabs appearing on the little boy's right thigh.
By the point they arrived home, the flaky patches had covered most of his leg and he hurt every time he tried to walk.

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Scars of the past

Taiga and Gaze rushed to treat Oomzi's wounds to the best of their abilities, and both Delight and the rest of their little community chimed in to support the struggling family.
With time, the infection stopped spreading, and Oomzi was able to survive and keep his leg, as the damage was only superficial.
Time faded Oomzi's rust damage, turning the flaky orange scabs into deep red skin.
Besides weird sensation and reduced elasticity, Oomzi was able to return to a normal life free of pain.

Phenotype

Cheetah

Alignment

Lawful good

Current Location

City of Birdland

Species

Furry Societarian

Conditions

• Rust

Ethnicity

Thaurian

Age

13

Date of Birth

6th of Reaping, 3010 E.Alz

Parents

Gaze

Taiga

Pronouns

He/Him

Gender

Boy

Likes and Dislikes

Oomzi loves company, pleasing others, fruit pies and Dhalmanite-styled drawings.
He loves going with Delight to pick pastries to go drink chocolate milk with his "extra-granny".
He dislikes "scary creatures", fishing, and meeting new groups of people on his own.
He is scared of male-morphed lyraiks, because of a neighbour's guardian lyraik that went aggressive on him the three times it became male.